Barb Strange wrote about writing to complain about a general newspaper advertisement that used bottle-feeding images:
"I also have a nagging concern regarding pointing ou.
t that bottle-feeding images are everywhere: they might say in reply, "everyone else is doing it, why should we care, why swim upstream?
But I would like to know what you think is "key"."
The advertisers really don't care if breastfeeding is good for families or society. But they DO care about breastfeeding if they think THEIR target market cares. And rates and statistics are the language they understand. (Think of measures of "market share" as being the "research-based evidence" that marketers follow) That's why Ross does its annual surveys.
As a trained and experienced sales and marketing professional, may I say the key is "numbers". Give them numbers and statistics of how many mothers are breastfeeding, and how these rates are growing. Advertisers are always looking to increase market share, and people who design ads will need to justify their designs and choice of images to their managers, clients or shareholders. They usually want to appeal to the largest market share but also need to appeal to the GROWING markets. (Appealing to a "shrinking" market is a very short term strategy, and often a "death sentence" for a product or company).
I think in Canada we have a tremendous asset, that we don't promote enough, in our HIGH initiation rates. For example, in Saskatoon, I believe it is now around 90%. I would DEFINATELY tell any advertiser this statistic. This tells me that the clear majority of women "believe in" breastfeeding, and want to breastfeed. (nevermind that we release them from hospital after 24-48 hours with little trained follow-up so that this is really a measure of "intention" to breastfeed, rather than actually breastfeed, in my opinion. And we know that the numbers drop significantly in the following weeks and months. But we don't need to tell the advertisers that!!!) Ask almost any recent mother in Canada if they breastfed, and they will usually tell you they did - whether it was 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years! They know that breastfeeding is the preffered thing to do here, and will identify themselves as a "breastfeeder" regardless of whether they later switched to bottles.
I think most areas have initiation rates over 50% (in the U.S. I believe the current average is about 67%???) So that is clearly the majority, not the minority. And even if the rates in your area are not great, I would think they are increasing? So that shows the trend is towards breastfeeding, not toward bottlefeeding. And most of us have increasing duration rates - state those. Find whatever rates and statistics you can to support your case, and ignore the negatives. That is their responsibility to research those factsAnd in many areas, it is the more educated, higher-incomed family that breastfeeds. This is a lucrative market for advertisers, a market with higher income that they want to capture. And it is often a group that "other groups" aspire to be like. So by portraying this "group image" in advertisements, marketers can appeal to both the group itself, and the "aspiring" groups. (That's probably why they used the middle-class, white, married, blissful couple in the advertisement complained about). So by portraying breastfeeding, marketers should be reaching a lucrative and influential market.
fff
And breastfeeding families should immediately have $150 or more per month disposable income to spend on other items. This should make them a more attractive market for anyone selling to families with young children. (these people have more money to spend on THEIR products.)
Advertisers, by portraying bottle-feeding, are potentially turning-off a significant breastfeeding market. If theyNational Breastfeeding MediaWatch Campaign http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/lactate/media.htm
Janice Reynolds,
Bachelor of Commerce with Marketing Major,
10 years sales/marketing experience with 2 multi-national corporations
4 years of thinking how to apply this experience to breastfeeding promotion
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